Clarissa · Chapter
Letter 420: Mr. Belford, to Robert Lovelace, Esq. explained
Belford writes to Lovelace about his servant's delay in delivering Lovelace's letter, describing how he and Mowbray berated the servant.
What happens
Belford writes to Lovelace about his servant's delay in delivering Lovelace's letter, describing how he and Mowbray berated the servant. He urges Lovelace to abandon thoughts of seeing Clarissa and to instead join him in attending their dying friend Belton, reflecting on mortality.
Themes in this chapter
Friendship and Loyalty
Belford urges Lovelace to visit their dying friend Belton, emphasizing the bonds of friendship and the shared fate of mortality.
Suffering and Redemption
Belford reflects on the inevitability of death and urges Lovelace to reconsider his actions, hinting at the need for moral reflection.
Characters to notice
- John Belford
Writes to Lovelace, scolds his servant, and urges Lovelace to give up thoughts of seeing Clarissa.
- Robert Lovelace
Addressee; Belford criticizes his harsh treatment of servants and urges him to abandon his pursuit of Clarissa.
- Richard Mowbray
Present with Belford, curses the servant and is impatient to leave for Lovelace's company.
- Thomas Belton
Dying friend whom Belford and Mowbray are attending; Belford urges Lovelace to visit him.
Key passages
“I believe no man has two such servants as I have. Because I treat them with kindness, and do not lord it over my inferiors, and d⸺n and curse them by looks and words like Mowbray; or beat their teeth out like Lovelace; but cry, Pr’ythee, Harry, do this, and, Pr’ythee, Jonathan, do that; the fellows pursue their own devices, and regard nothing I say, but what falls in with these.”
Belford complains that his servants take advantage of his gentle treatment, unlike the harsh discipline of Mowbray and Lovelace, and do only what suits them.
Belford contrasts his own lenient style of mastery with the violent methods of his friends.
“I would have thee lay thine to heart; for I could give thee such an interpretation of it, as would shock thee, perhaps; and if thou askest me for it, I will.”
Belford warns Lovelace to take his dream seriously, offering to interpret it in a way that might disturb him.
Belford hints at a foreboding meaning behind Lovelace's dream, urging him to reflect.
“For what are ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty years, to look back to; in the longest of which periods forward we shall all perhaps be mingled with the dust from which we sprung?”
Belford reflects on the brevity of life, noting that in a few decades they will all be dead and buried.
A meditation on mortality, urging Lovelace to consider the fleeting nature of existence.